Life As It Is
by lady lynn2
Summary: Sakura is a girl with a horrible past.  Sounds familier when she meets Gaara.  Please read, summery is not that good but the story is.
1. Chapter 1

_Dear readers,_

_This is my first fanfic. Hope you all enjoy! I do not own Naruto._

_~Lady Lynnn2~  
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><p><em>Chapter one<em>

"Now, Sakura, you need to focus on the training, which is if you want to become the strongest kunoichi ever," a man with brown hair said.

"Sorry father, I seem a little distracted today," a little girl said, about the age of five. Sakura was the strongest of her entire clan. She was five and already surpassed all of her teachers in knowledge, strength, and even in skills.

"Father, mother wishes to speak with you," a blonde girl said, about the age of fourteen. Sakura looked at her older sister and smiled, a frown was returned.

"Sakura, you need to get ready for bed, it's already nighttime. Your mother will be up in a while," he father said. Her sister smirked coldly at her then disappeared into another room.

"Alright Sakura you need to go to bed, I read you a story but now you need to go to bed. I'll see you bright and early in the morning with your favorite breakfast," her mother smiled sweetly at her.

"Can you make the special cakes that you make in the morning, the ones with the chocolate," the little pinkette asked. Her mother smiled at her and nodded her head. She dipped down and kissed her daughter one last time before she left the room. Sakura sighed as her mother left the room. She was thinking about the new things she would do the next day. Slowly her closed into her dream state.

Little did she know the door cracked open a little, with the light from the hallway shining in. Her sister peered in to see if the little pink haired girl was asleep. The emeralds were closed. She was ready to start her plan of action.

"_Sakura, come here," her mother was calling out across the meadow. The little girl looked up and smiled. She giggled all while running through the field of flowers to her mother. Her mother smiled down at her daughter._

"_Sakura run," she heard her father shout in a distance. Her mother and she looked up alarmed. Her father was wearing a scared look. He was screaming at her to run. His screaming turned into shrieking and screaming. She gasped as she tried to get out of her mother's hold. Her mother wouldn't let her go. She was kicking at her mother while screaming to get away. Her mother looked down with a cold smirk plastered on her face. She started crying and screaming, trying to get away from her capture. Her father's screams were getting louder and louder._

Sakura jolted awake up in her bed. She was panting in need for air. Her dream was not a dream. Her father was screaming at her sister, Katsuko. The screaming and crying to get away did not fade away. She got out of bed and slowly crept to her door. She opened the door silently and made her way down the stairs. No one was in sight. Suddenly the screaming stopped. She navigated her way through the house quickly and quietly. She was horrified when she found her way into the living room. Her father was dead lying on the floor. Blood was everywhere in sight for the poor five year old pinkette. Katsuko was nowhere in sight. Her bottom lip was starting to quiver. Pools of water were starting to build at the corners of her eyes. She blinked once, nothing spilt, she blinked again, still nothing. She blinked the third time and the water gave way. Tears fell out of her eyes like waterfalls. Sobs never once escaped her mouth or throat.

"Sakura," her mother gasped. Her mother enclosed her into a tight hug. Sobs still never broke from the child.

"Mother, was this Katsuko's doing," Sakura asked in an even tone.

"Yes, she's out of control. We need to get you to safety now. Come, follow me," she said hurriedly.

"Mother why is Katsuko acting this way," I asked, while blinking the tears away.

"Your sister is mad because you received a special Kekkei Genkai from your father's family and my family. I can't tell you what it is because I myself don't know. But I do know that your sister is very jealous that she wasn't chosen to receive at least one of the two. You need to stay in my closet for awhile, at least until she leaves. Do you understand," she asked me, as she put me into the closet.

"Yes, when will I be able to see you again," she asked.

"Sakura, that's something I don't know yet, but when I know I will tell you," she said. I nodded as she closed the door of the closet. Not even three minutes later, Katsuko entered the room.

"Where is she," demanded Katsuko.

"That's not information I can tell you," her mother said firmly.

"Tell me where she is, Akira," her sister said more dementedly now.

"She's not here," Akira said.

"Is that so? I have a feeling that you're lying to me, mother," Katsuko smeared the last word.

"The feeling you have is probably about yourself, Katsuko. You're the one who is trying to kill every one of your family members off to be the most powerful one. I say that feeling is about you not me. I want you to leave this village and never return to this place again. I want you to make yourself scarce now," Akira said.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Before I leave I something else to wipe out before I continue on with my errands, mother. Unfortunately for you I'll see you in hell," Katsuko said with a smirk. She took out a Kunai and played a little with it before she threw it at her mother. Akira didn't see the Kunai coming and was struck in the shoulder. She screamed out in pain. Katsuko smirked at the blow that was given.

"Now tell me where she is," Katsuko shouted over her cries of pain.

"Never will I tell you where she is in my lifetime, Katsuko," Akira yelled. In the closet Sakura was silently crying over her soon to be dead mother.

"Well I suppose its good you'll die soon, huh?" Katsuko laughed. In the middle of the night Akira's cries of pain were not heard in Village Hidden in the Leaves. Silently Sakura stifled her cries of her dead parents.

"Sakura, I know you're listening. One day I will hunt you down and kill you slowly, then I will be the last and most powerful Haruno to ever live," she yelled. Katsuko jumped out the window and fled the village.

Sakura dried her tears and stayed where she was. She didn't move or come out. She knew now that she was alone in this world to live without parents or love. The lonely child sat wide-eyed, hugging her knees for dear life. The next days following she didn't dare move from her spot or sleep for fear that Katsuko would be there in an instance to take her life like she had with their parents. She stayed in the exact same spot for many days and many nights. She lost count after three.


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own Naruto._

_Chapter two_

_Sakura's POV_

Voices were starting to come everywhere now. I couldn't see where they were but I didn't care. I was too scared to think about help at the moment. I just wanted to be left alone. All that went through my head was _I killed them. They're dead because of me._ All hope was lost in my future now.

"Hey I think I see someone," I heard someone say. I didn't look up when the person opened the door. No light had shown down on me. It was just the darkness. No one was there in my sight. I hugged my knees tighter and tighter.

"Sakura, Sakura you need to come with us," a woman was shaking me and saying. I still didn't budge. I kept my posture as was and continued into a tight ball.

"She's not moving," the woman said. I could hear more feet shuffling in the room. There were low murmurs that I couldn't make out.

"I guess we have to move her then to take her to the Hokage," a man sighed. Still after hearing that statement, I didn't dare move. This could have been a genjutsu my sister was trying on me and I didn't want to get caught in it. I felt warm arms envelope me around the waist. I tried swatting away the hands but I was too weak. I finally looked up to see the kind face of a real woman and not some allusion. She smiled sweetly at me and held me a little tighter, as if she was afraid to let me fall.

"Sakura, you can sleep now, I won't let you fall or any harm come to you," the woman said.

"What's your name," I asked in a raspy voice.

"You can call me Tsume," the woman smiled down at me. I nodded my head as I dosed off into the weightless dream land of my mind, where no worries were allowed.

_Flowers. Grass. Ocean air. The sea. The house. Those people. The meadow. They all seemed so familiar. It's like I have been here before. But I don't remember them. The smell of the sea and ocean air seemed so familiar but not. Those people, I feel like I've met them before. That girl, she looks familiar. Wait. Who am I? I don't remember those people but yet they call my name._

_ "Sakura, come here," the woman said. The woman was tall and beautiful. Her long strawberry blonde hair was tied up into a bun and she wore a purple dress. She seemed oddly familiar._

_ "Sakura, wake up. It's time for you to wake up. Wake up," she was saying. I looked at her and gave her a confused look. The woman just smiled me and waved, as if she was saying good-bye. All of a sudden my vision was getting blurry. I looked around to see the ends of my vision fading away._

Slowly I began to open my eyes. White was the only color I could see. An annoying beeping sound was in the background. I turned my head to the woman who took me away from my home. She was sleeping in a chair next to the bed. A man with silver hair was standing in the doorframe of the room. He was reading a book that was orange. His face was cover with a mask and his left eye was covered with a forehead protector. It seemed as if he was oblivious to me.

"I see you are awake now. How do you feel, Sakura," he said from behind his book. I looked at him and stared. After a few minutes of silence he looked up to stare right back at me. His eye started crinkling, like he was smiling from underneath his mask.

"I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? Well my name is Hatake Kakashi," he said. He smiled even more when I didn't respond. I didn't get what was so funny that he had too smile when I was giving him the death look. He started to chuckle when it was after about five minutes of me being silent.

"I'm fine," I seethed through my teeth.

"Good, I need to get the Hokage, so don't run off now," he smiled then disappeared. I sighed and relaxed. I looked over again to see the woman, Tsume, still asleep. I sat up and stared at the wall, with nothing to say to the friendly wall. I heard footsteps down the hallway with a lot of yelling. The door burst open with a loud bang. The woman, who was sleeping, jumped up with a start. An old man was standing in the doorway with Kakashi at his side. I didn't look at them from the wall. I was off somewhere else from where they were. I didn't relies they were talking to me when I felt someone shake my shoulder. I looked up to see Kakashi with his hand on my shoulder. I scowled at him and looked at his hand. He followed my gazed and chuckled. My scowl turned into a look of death when he didn't get the warning.

"Please, remove your hand and return it back to your side," I said coldly. He still didn't get the message, but the Hokage and Tsume did. I slowly lifted my hand and placed it on top of his hand. I roughly gripped his hand and crushed his entire hand in seconds. A manly scream was heard throughout the hospital. Nurses fled into the room but ducked quickly as I threw Kakashi into the hallway.

"Well, Sakura, my name is Namikaze Minato. There is no need to call me Hokage-sama. I would like to hear what happened the night your parents died. If this is too much you may stop whenever you feel needed. You may begin now if you'd like," the Hokage said.

"Alright. The night they died I was in bed dreaming about something. I heard screaming in my dream; I didn't think it would be my father. When I woke up the screaming didn't cease. I looked around the house for anybody. I couldn't find anyone, which is until I reached the living room. My father was dead in the middle of the floor. My mother found me and started explaining to me that she was jealous. She put me in her closet to hide me. Katsuko found my mother and demanded to know where I was. She lied and was killed by Katsuko, along with my father. She promised that she would find me and kill me, at whatever it takes. It's my fault their dead now because I had inherited some stupid Kekkei Genkai. I just wish I was born without them," I said.

"Did your mother tell you what kind of Kekkei Genkai you had," he asked.

"No. She said she didn't even know herself. I think it's very powerful though," I said. He nodded his head in understanding. This whole thing had myself very confused. The last words my mother said to me and the type power she didn't know I had had me even more confused. I didn't want to think about it now. My head was starting to hurt with all this thinking; I was after all only five.

"Where am I going to live now," I asked.

"As of right now you will live in your own home and have four ANBU posted at your house. I'll see if I can find a family member or good friend of the family to take care of you," he said.

"You won't find any family, they died awhile ago. My sister and I are the last Harunos to live. Good luck finding a friend because all of the family friends were old," I said. He nodded his head and went into a thinking state. I left to go to the bathroom to change into some clothing. I came out with a little green long sleeve dress on with some gray flats. I left shortly to go to the office of the Hokage. Out in the hallway I saw Kakashi reading his book and his right arm in a sling. I gave him a dirty look and he chuckled.

"Do you want the other arm to match your right arm," I threatened. He stopped and looked wide eyed at me. He shook his head 'no' and stuck his nose into his book.

"You've made an enemy with a little girl, Kakashi. How unique for the Copy-ninja," a man with green spandexes said. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned.

"What did you just call me," I said.

"I said 'little girl'. That's what you are and there's no getting around it," he said.

"I should beat you into a bloody pulp and see if you call me 'little girl' anymore," I threatened.

"Like something as harmless as you beat me up, I bet you can't even win an arm wrestling match against me," he said.

"Sure I could. Why don't we go outside and I'll show you how strong I am," I said.

"Guy, you shouldn't make bets with her, at all," Kakashi said. By this time the Hokage stopped to see what was going on but didn't stop the man from making a bet with me.

"Alright, how about we go outside and settle this on the big rock in the park," he smiled. I nodded my head and smirked. He was in for it and the best part was that he didn't even know it yet. The Hokage was by now wearing a smirk on his face as well.

The park was quiet and some people were gathering around to see what the commotion was. Mostly shinobi were standing around the two of us. Now that the news of me and the man going to arm wrestle had spread through the crowd, bets were being placed. It was about a few minutes after we had arrived when we got into the position to arm wrestle.

"Alright, on my count you start. One, two, three, wrestle," the Hokage said, as he let go of our hands. He was strong, yes, but I was stronger. I slammed his hand down onto the boulder, cracking it in half and crushing the man's hand. Everyone was surprised to see a little girl, like me, arm wrestle a grown man, and shinobi, and win.

Now the Hokage and I made our way to the Hokage Tower with a bunch of cash in our hands. He didn't need to count to know that there was enough. Once we had reached the tower, he assigned the ANBU members as my guards.

"Sakura, I expect you to visit me daily so that I know how you're doing. In a few years I will have you enrolled in to the academy, but for now try to adjust to living as before. You may leave now if you wish," he had said. I nodded my head and turned to leave. On the way out I saw the man I arm wrestled and Kakashi sitting next to each other, talking like little old ladies gossiping back and forth. They looked up to see who was coming when I came through with the four ANBU.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. How are you today," I said politely. They just smiled a little and nodded their heads in my direction. I giggled a little and continued walking.

Over the years, the Hokage had stayed true to his word. I was enrolled at the age of six and started training after my parents had died. He had seeked out Kakashi to train me until teams were made in the academy. By the time I was promoted to a Gennin, I was more talented than the teacher himself, in the academy. The children in my class didn't know about the extent of my power, which was perfectly fine by me because I did not want to attract attention. Many of the other kids on the other hand, wanted attention and they got it all. A perfectly good example would be the stuck up snob Uchiha Sasuke. I detested the child so much. He even had his own little fan club going and he wasn't even eleven yet. But then there was the class clown, who could make anyone laugh, but me. I had yet to find one of his antics funny yet. The famous class clown was Uzumaki Naruto; he was a little ball of fury that messed around a little too much for myself. He knew well enough to leave me alone, which was perfectly fine also.

"Sakura, come here and sit by me," a blond girl waved. I nodded my head and walked over.

"Do I know you," I said.

"I'm Yamanaka Ino. You don't need to introduce yourself to me; I know exactly who you are. You're one of the last Harunos remaining, like Sasuke is one of the last remaining Uchihas. Anyway, sit down so class can start. I think we're getting teams picked today. I'm so excited, I hope I get on the same team as Sasuke-kun," Ino said.

"Alright, but no more squealing like a little pig about your precious 'Sasuke-kun', I hate it when people go all goo-goo over him. I mean really, he's a person like everyone else. What's the big deal about him being the last Uchiha, and don't tell me it's because he's so cute," I said. She nodded her head and got ready for class. The teacher walked in with shinobi trailing him from behind.

"Alright, listen up. Today you're going to be put into teams of three people. Any questions," he said. No one raised a hand or shouted out a protest of any sort. He continued on by pulling out a list of names.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and… Haruno Sakura. That makes up Team Seven. Your sensei will meet you all in the park in five minutes," he said. I sighed when I heard I was going to be on the same team as Sasuke. That just made my day, not. Naruto, I don't mind so much but the Uchiha, oi.

"Alright let's go and no dilly dallies from either of you," I said. Together we all walked to the park and surprisingly without any troubles. We waited a whole hour before I decided to take a walk. Sadly I knew exactly who our teacher would be.


End file.
